"Instagram"? Some internet role models which are capable of setting the "pace" to others who are too lazy to think on their own or to comprehensively compare two machines and make a decision.
Reintroduction of film cameras
-
A
- Thread starter AlNY
- Start date
Recent Classifieds
-
Want to Buy 135mm 5.6 enlarging lens
- Started by ediz7531
-
For Sale New 55 instant film (replacement for polaroid type 55)
- Started by Early Riser
-
Free 16x20 and 20x24 expired Ilford multigrade paper, Portland Oregon pick up
- Started by Early Riser
-
For Sale Helipan 112mm Circular Polarizer
- Started by Early Riser
-
Sold For Sale: 10 rolls of 120 film *SOLD*
- Started by Brad Bireley
Forum statistics
Its funny how many people say that, not sure why....maybe they never owned one.?
Not sure, but I don't really mind, for as long as I know, I've used all OM system cameras except OM-3 and OM-30, currently have OM-4 and bought OM-1 for dirt cheap not so long ago, 4 is great, but 1 has so much nostalgia in it.
Not sure why people don't like the MjuII. Mine lasted 20 years before succumbing to a sticking lens, which is probably fixable. It isn't perfect, most people would prefer auto flash not to be a default, but it's a very small, sharp camera. Prices have gone silly recently, but that isn't the fault of the camera.
It's not about "don't like", it's about "glorifying and selling at ridiculous price".
Trickle down economics from the super compacts. Current eBay prices for a Fuji Klasse S £612, Minolta TC-1 £801, Contax T2 £799, etc. You'd have to be rich or stupid to pay those prices for a 15-20 year old unfixable camera.
The Klasse S (and W) only ceased production within the last 5 years or so ago. I had one in my hand, ready to buy in Japan but for reasons I continually question, I didnt buy it. What a dumb move.
The Fuji came out 11 years ago and has restrictions like a maximum 1/290 sec max shutter speed. My issue with all such cameras is the manufacturers will no longer touch them, and independent repairers can only get spares from the few donor bodies available. Most say they are unrepairable. JCH stopped dealing in them, and they were a core part of his business. For a camera chock full of electronics that's very bad news, especially at the price.
The Klasse cameras had shutter speeds of 1/500th sec @ f/2.8 and 1/1000th a sec @ f/16. Typical of a leaf shutter camera.
Yes, they are not repairable so you take your chances. That said, modern electronics are very reliable and the risk is very very small.
I disagree. Any camera with micro electronics living in the environment of a typical point and shoot camera, is on borrowed time. They're not professional SLRs. Look how many super compacts are sold with disclaimers about various functions not working.
Look at how many Contax RTS III's are out there as well as Contax G2's. Huge numbers of these cameras are still going. Yes, some die every day but they are well over 20 years old at this point. My GA645 is easily 20 years old and has performed flawlessly. I dont think the risk is all that high on a piece of electronics 10 years old. With decent care you should get an additional 10 years out of it.
An RTSIII is not built like a G2, and there are no shortage of RTS's with faults. I have numerous point and shoot cameras, desirable ones and ones worth less than the postage. I wouldn't rely on any without carrying a spare for important occasions. They typically have two flaws, the electronics that power the autofocus, and the lightweight nature of the drive train. Some are better than others but you're not talking Nikon F5 lifespans. Cost is relative, but for me any camera over about £250 should be under warranty or repairable.
I'm sure you know what I mean. 'Zoom' Mjus are sold for more than 100$, while fixed focal length Mjus are sold roughly for 250$. Virtually ANY japanese manual focus compact rangefinder and even some rather serious autofocus rangefinders are available at that price. Not to mention SLR cameras. If someone wants to pay that much for a bar of soap which has overblown price "just because Internet" or "just because it's trendy", let them buy. But it's far from rational thinking.
I'm not disagreeing, prices like that are ridiculous. I think my MjuII was about £100 new, so seeing a 20 year old camera selling for £250 is crazy. I have 4 zoom Mjus, and didn't pay more than £13 for any of them just three years ago. There are lots of very good fixed lens 35mm compacts for buttons, unless there's been a bubble very recently I've missed. A Pentax PC35, various Canon SureShots, even Sigma made some classy compact cameras. The XA series are nice but I think they've risen in price since the XA3 I paid £15 for a box of 4 last year. A lot of the so-called super compacts are fashion accessories.
Well, not everyone has this requirement. I'm not saying you are unreasonable. I can completely understand your point. But given that there will never be another Fuji Klasse S or similar camera, the only way to get one is to gamble a bit.
If you want a camera to use, the price of the Fuji puts it in line with some very nice gear. I appreciate some people will want the Klasse for what it is, not for any photographic capabilities. I haven't used one but I've read it's slower than the competition. I'd rather have something like a Bessa and a Voigtlander 35, or if it had to be pocketable, any number of AF 35mm compacts I could be philosophical about returning to landfill.
https://www.35mmc.com/04/02/2014/fuji-klasse-w-final-thoughts/
I have 3 film cameras left and a well stocked darkroom and freezer but old age is making it harder and harder in the darkroom. And the cost of sending film out is getting to much of a expenses. Slowly moving to the dark side
David
David
Yes, that's what I'm talking about. You see, last summer I have got Olympus OM10 for 25$ (body+lens+holster), OM40 for 17$ (body+35-70 zoom lens), Pentax ME Super for 24$ (body with Sigma 50/2.8 manual macro),Olympus OM1 in mint condition for 60$ (body only), Olympus OM2 for 20$ (body along with the lens, fully functional), OM4 body for 90$, Pen EE3 for 15$ (fully working), 35SP for 60$. Nikon N80 with 35-70 mm zoom for stupidly cheap 25$ with MB-16 AA batter grip! And I wasn't playing auctions, the prices were fixed. Virtually ANY rangefinder camera which is still underrated, will sell for reasonably low price. If I may, here's a good article about the topic:
https://www.casualphotophile.com/2018/04/23/mju-ii-contax-t-alternatives-point-and-shoot/
Come over to Georgia. C-41 costs 1.20$, Black and white costs 1.60$ and E6 goes for 6.50$, all regardless of format.I have 3 film cameras left and a well stocked darkroom and freezer but old age is making it harder and harder in the darkroom. And the cost of sending film out is getting to much of a expenses. Slowly moving to the dark side
David
Stil in the $400 whereabouts? Back in 2014 I browsed around for MF and ended up picking the GW690 but if one thing Fuji laid out well is the complmentarity of these cameras. The GA being a superconvenient "half frame" medium format vs the 6x9 RF Behemoth. Anyways, prices for the GA hovered that mark.
Pentax 67 has doubled. Sweet 105 and wooden grip, babies!
More or less but also depends of the people. I tend to dive into things and research a lot before commiting to anything. Most people may just search "buy first film camera" see the AE1, a few others and there you go. AE1's and K1000 AFAIK soared because they have become the "go to" novice cameras.
Then the Yashica 124G, I've seen it hyped quite a bit lately. IDK about prices, but I got a user Rolleicord V which is more of a classic for a decent price and less than what most 124s were going for last year.
Then the Contaxes and mjuII, well, I'm agreeing more with you. Saw a catalog scan from a decade ago and the price new listed at B&H was about half of what they are selling now. SLR wise, I got a Nikon F90 which are cheapish (in US: cheap!) and seem hard to kill. Unsexy 90s styling, no F4 caché but lighter, yuck. Great battle camera.
Nowadays I use the rationale of better spend the $ on film and gas (not GAS, what a pun), which is to go places, than cameras. Whenever I got some slack in budget I should fix up my OM1 and tune up that Rolleicord. I should buy more Provia/Velvia soon and support E6.
The fashion is for small cameras. When a Nikon professional SLR camera was £1500 an Olympus XA was about one-tenth the price. Now, the Olympus could easily fetch more than the Nikon on the used market.
Oh so they DO break after all? Now that's a surprise. Ones I used to have worked a lot and went for a good price. Nostalgia hit me not so long ago and I've ordered one with a dead meter for a little over 20$
Original (rangefinder) XA is remarkable in many ways, IIRC it's Maitani's last work, one of the smallest full frame rangefinders ever made and its lens can easily compete almost all its peers. And even though it's hideous, its engineers at least knew definition of "ergonomics", unlike those of Rollei 35. But right now there's a hype around XA and buying one for a reasonable price is quite difficult, while Nikon FM and F1 sometimes go for a 70-80$ body only. No wonder there are no new film camera models made, with old machines so cheap, demand for new product will be miniscule.
I'm a fan of Olympus compacts and the original XA is a nice camera, but I do think the rangefinder is a bit fiddly and prefer the zone focus of the XA2 and XA3 for the purposes of a point and shoot. In fact they're better than the MjuII for my purposes because I can dictate what's in focus, without it being confused by reflections and backgrounds. No shutter/focus lag either.
AF super compacts as a whole work best in automated modes, they're too small physically for manual overrides to be well implemented. This is equally true of digital compacts.
That is not true. I bought the XA kit in 1979 demo for $180. I bought the Nikon F2AS with the 50mm f/1.4 lens in 1977 for $750. I bought the F3HP body in 1983 for $460. Or may be my Nikon's are not pro.
| Photrio.com contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. To read our full affiliate disclosure statement please click Here. |
PHOTRIO PARTNERS EQUALLY FUNDING OUR COMMUNITY:  |